New poll: Suspended Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell leads in race to reclaim job

A new poll released by former Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell shows her 11 points ahead of her successor Andrew Bain as she runs to retake her former position following her suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.

The poll was conducted by Change Research through an online survey of 887 likely 2024 voters in Orange and Osceola counties in June. The Worrell campaign agreed to provide the complete survey to the Orlando Sentinel.

Worrell had the support of 41% of respondents, Bain received 30% and 28% of likely voters remained undecided. The poll has a 3.4% margin of error.

DeSantis suspended Worrell in August for allegedly failing to prosecute crimes and appointed Bain, a circuit court judge,in her place. He also suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, another Democrat, on similar grounds in 2022 and appointed Suzy Lopez in his place. Warren is running to regain his old position from Lopez.

Both suspensions were controversial, raising questions about the appropriate role of the governor toward local elected officials. The poll found that 47% believed Worrell’s suspension was politically motivated and disregarded the choice of voters, while 26% believed the suspension was justified and 27% were undecided.

“This data confirms what we hear from voters everyday,” Worrell said in a statement. “Voters are not going to allow Governor DeSantis to silence their voices.”

In response to questions from the Sentinel, Bain’s campaign offered no comment on the poll results, instead criticizing Worrell for the outcomes of cases prosecuted during her tenure.

Worrell is again running as a Democrat while Bain is running as an independent candidate. Attorneys Thomas Feiter and Seth Hyman will face off for the Republican nomination in August, with the winner contending against Worrell and Bain in November.

Democrats make up the largest share of registered voters in both Orange and Osceola counties, with non-party affiliated voters second and Republicans third. The poll suggests the makeup of the electorate will be challenging for Bain.

In hypothetical three-way matchups, Worrell leads and Bain comes in last running against either Feiter or Hyman. In a matchup with Feiter, Worrell received 40%, Feiter received 24%, Bain received 13% and 24% were undecided. In a matchup with Hyman, Worrell received 42%, Hyman 22%, Bain 11% and 25% were undecided.

Worrell was elected state attorney in 2020 with 66% of the vote as a Democrat against an independent candidate who won 33%. No Republican ran in the race. Bain was elected as an Orange County circuit court judge in 2022 with 63.5% of the vote compared to his opponent’s 36.5%. Neither were affiliated with any party because judicial elections are nonpartisan.